Justice News

Sixth Conspirator Admits to the Robbery of an Owings Mills Jewelry Store

Baltimore, Maryland – Sorhib Omonov, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a robbery conspiracy, in connection with the robbery of a jewelry store.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

According to his plea agreement, Omonov was part of a conspiracy to rob an Owings Mills jewelry store. Specifically, on January 15, 2013, Omonov was present at the home of a co-conspirator while that person and other conspirators prepared for the robbery. Omonov was aware that the plan was to commit the robbery of a jewelry store.

According to court documents, a co-conspirator devised a plan to commit an armed robbery of a jewelry store, and recruited Marat Yelizarov, Igor Yasinov, Peter Magnis, Grigoriy Zilberman and Aleksey Sosonko to participate in the robbery. Prior to the robbery, the conspirators gathered intelligence, including conducting surveillance and attaching a GPS device to the car of an employee of the jewelry store in order to learn the employee’s travel routine and habits. Zilberman also exploited his friendship with the employee to obtain information about the operation of the jewelry store and the habits of the employee.

According to Omonov’s plea agreement, on January 15, 2013, Zilberman enticed the employee to visit his home, in order to alert the other co-conspirators of the employee’s whereabouts. In the early morning hours of January 16, Omonov and Yelizarov drove to Zilberman’s home in order to alert the other conspirators of the employee’s departure. Yelizarov and Omonov followed the employee from Zilberman’s home for a while, and notified the other conspirators of the employee’s location so they could follow the employee. Yelizarov and Omonov continued to drive around the area while Yasinov, Magnis, Sosonko and another co-conspirator driving in a rental car obtained by Yasinov, used a law enforcement-type light bar and a loudspeaker to impersonate a police officer and pull over the employee. Brandishing firearms, Yasinov, Magnis, Sosonko and the other co-conspirator removed the employee from his car, bound and blindfolded the employee, put him into the trunk of his own car, and drove him to a predetermined location. Once at the location, Yasinov, Magnis, Sosonko and the co-conspirator continued to brandish firearms and threatened to kill the employee’s family if he did not comply with their demands or if he reported the incident to police. The employee complied and at approximately 3:52 a.m., Sosonko and a co-conspirator drove the employee’s vehicle from the remote location to the jewelry store. Yasinov and Magnis stayed with the employee.

After the four other conspirators abducted the employee, Omonov and Yelizarov drove to the area of the jewelry store. Yelizarov dropped Omonvo off a few hundred yards from the store to act as a “look-out” and notify the co-conspirators if he saw any signs of law enforcement. Sosonko and the other co-conspirator entered the jewelry store and stole jewelry, stones, and watches, valued at about $500,000, then drove back to the remote location. Omonov was in regular phone contact with three of his co-conspirators, including those who held the employee at gunpoint and those who robbed the jewelry store.

After the robbery, Omonov returned to the home of one of the co-conspirators where he viewed the stolen jewelry along with other co-conspirators. One of the co-conspirators subsequently gave Omonov $1,000 cash, proceeds from the sale of some of the stolen jewelry, for his part in the conspiracy.

Omonov’s sentencing is scheduled for March 25, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz.

Grigoriy (Greg) Zilberman, age 24, of Owings Mills, Maryland, and Peter Aleksandrov Magnis, age 27, of Hydes, Maryland, Igor Yasinov, age 26, of Baltimore, and Marat Yelizarov, age 28, of Pikesville, Maryland and Aleksey Sosonko, age 35, of Owings Mills, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the robbery conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Baltimore County Police Department, and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Budlow and Aaron S. J. Zelinsky, who are prosecuting the case.